1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the selective input, access, and output of data items from a data base, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for receiving, storing, accessing and providing data items from a data base, wherein the data items correspond to geometrically describable characteristics and trading parameters of raw materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The manufacturers, distributors and users of raw materials sold by volume, weight, box, roll and spool, such as textiles and metals, are frequently inundated with large amounts of slow moving and outmoded inventories tying up both capital and warehouse storage space. Additionally, many manufacturers with stock inventory of raw materials go into or out of business every year, either looking for new suppliers or trying to liquidate stock. The information regarding the availability and description of these raw materials is at best incomplete. This makes it difficult to sell the raw materials to free capital and warehouse storage space, and to liquidate stock.
The initiation of contact between the buyer and seller of rolled and spooled goods (such as textiles and metals) traditionally occurs through either a personal contact, a referral, or a magazine advertisement. In most industries, there are several layers of middlemen who, for a "finders fee", provide profitable "source information" to introduce a seller having a particular good to a buyer who wishes to purchase the particular goods. The payment of the "finders fee" significantly reduces the overall amount of money realized as a result of a sale. It is evident that a more defined and ordered system of communication could vastly improve the contacts between the buyer and seller of the particular goods and enable a seller to realize a greater return.
There are numerous ways in which technology can be and has been implemented in order to better serve the needs of a particular industry. One example is the use of the Internet to provide information to buyers and sellers in the form of a classified advertisement. Another (e.g., fax on demand systems) is the use of the facsimile machine to transmit a list of suppliers' of goods in response to a telephone inquiry made by a person who has an interest in those goods. Examples of such systems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,731 (LaLonde et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,838 (Barbari), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,634 (Rae et al).
Fax-on-demand systems typically have the ability to provide information based on a general text search. The text search compares an input parameter with existing text stored in a generalized advertising data base. Other fax-on-demand systems typically enable a user to select a particular document or listing that the user would like sent via fax, or, alternatively, select a general category (e.g., canvas) in which the user has an interest. The user is then provided, via fax, all classified advertisements relating to the selected general category.
Prior art systems have, however, failed to offer the supplier and purchaser of geometrically describable (e.g., size, texture, weight, etc.) raw materials (e.g., textiles, metals, wire, chemical and dye) an easy way to store, access and retrieve information to make contact with one another.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for permitting a supplier of geometrically describable raw materials to remotely enter data items which the supplier wishes to sell, into a programmable computer based system, for access by a potential purchaser.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for permitting a potential purchaser (information client) to remotely enter a request profile descriptive of a geometrically describable raw material, into a programmable computer based system to search a data base for a supplier.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for selecting and providing data items stored in a programmable computer-based system in response to a potential purchaser's remotely entered request profile.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for searching a data base on a request profile which is capable of correlating weight and measure units of the request profile and weight and measure units provided by a supplier.
It is a further object of the present invention to overcome inherent disadvantages of known programmable computer-based classified-ad type systems.
In accordance with one form of the present invention, the method employing a programmable computer for providing a list of data items corresponding to geometrically describable raw materials based upon a request profile specified by a purchaser includes storing in a data base, a plurality of data items including a first plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters identifying characteristics of an item offered for sale by a supplier. The method further includes receiving a request profile from an information client, the request profile including a plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters identifying characteristics of an item sought by the information client. Then, comparing the request profile having the second plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters with each of the plurality of data items having the first plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters. Thereafter, the method includes identifying each of the plurality of data items having the first plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters which match the second plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters of the request profile and providing each of the plurality of data items identified through the information client.
In accordance with another form of the present invention, apparatus for providing a list of data items corresponding to geometrically describable raw materials based upon a request profile specified by an information client includes means for storing in a data base, a plurality of data items including a first plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters identifying characteristics of an item offered for sale by a supplier. The apparatus also includes means for receiving a request profile from an information client, the request profile including a second plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters identifying characteristics of an item sought by the information client and means for comparing the request profile having the second plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters with each of the plurality of data items having the first plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters. The apparatus further includes means for identifying each of the plurality of data items having the first plurality of data geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters which match the second plurality of geometrically descriptive terms and trading parameters of the request profile. Finally, means for providing each of the plurality of data items through the client is provided.
A preferred form of the method and apparatus for interactively receiving, storing and providing data corresponding to geometrically describable raw materials, as well as other embodiments, objects, features and advantages of this invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.